Bryant Named National Defensive Player of the Week by 3 Organizations

Clemson, S.C.—Clemson defensive end Austin Bryant has been named the national defensive player of the week by three different organizations over the last three days. The junior from Pavo, Georgia tied a school record for sacks in a game with four in the 14-6 win over 13th ranked Auburn last Saturday.

Bryant is the first Clemson defensive player to win all three awards in the same week.

Bryant had seven tackles overall and helped the Clemson defense hold Auburn to just 117 yards total offense, just 15 in the second half. Auburn had just 38 yards rushing in the game as the Clemson defense had 11 sacks, tied for second in school history. Auburn did not score a touchdown for the first time in 23 games.

Bryant joined Keith Adams (1999 vs. Duke) and Andre Branch (2011 vs. Virginia Tech) as the only Clemson players to register four sacks in a game.

Bryant was named the winner of the Football Writers Associations Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week on Tuesday. On Monday he won the Chuck Bednarik Award National Defensive Player of the Week from the Maxwell Award and on Sunday he was named the Walter Camp Defensive Player of the Week.

Each Tuesday during the regular season, the FWAA has selected a Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week since 2001. Bryant will be added to the Bronko Nagurski Watch List for the annual award. The FWAA and the Charlotte Touchdown Club will announce five finalists for the 2017 Bronko Nagurski Trophy on Wed., Nov. 15. The winner will be chosen from those five finalists who are part of the 2017 FWAA All-America Team.

The annual Bronko Nagurski Trophy Banquet, presented by ACN, will be held on Mon., Dec. 4 at the Charlotte Convention Center. In addition to the 2017 Bronko Nagurski Trophy winner’s announcement, the banquet will also celebrate the recipient of the Bronko Nagurski Legends Award, sponsored by the CTC and Florida East Coast Railway.